Can't Shake You
by sofaritsalright
Summary: After Wade cheats on Zoe, they both try to figure out how to live around each other even with their lingering feelings.
**A/N:** Hello, loves. This is a quick note to say that I am not quitting on my other Zade fic, but I did get an idea for a new fic… And it's taking heart breaking country songs that Wade probably listens to and making it into one horrible mess of heart aches. I would like to apologize in advance. Please favorite, follow, and review if you enjoy it! I'd love to know if I should continue this fic or not, so let me know! (:

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" _But there's only so many streets, so many lights_  
 _I swear it's like I can't even leave my house_  
 _I should've known all along_  
 _You gotta move or move on_  
 _When you break up in a small town_ "  
-Sam Hunt

In a small town such as Bluebell, Alabama, you couldn't turn the corner without bumping into your ex. Both Zoe and Wade tried to avoid it at every turn, but even their occupations couldn't keep them apart. Zoe wasn't the biggest fan of food at the Rammer Jammer, but she had grown accustomed to it. And for some reason Wade always seemed to need an emergency visit to the doctor when Brick wasn't at work. No matter what they did, they had to keep seeing each other. Every morning, they'd have to walk outside and see each other's houses like it was nothing. Both of their hearts sunk in their chests whenever it happened. Wade couldn't help but to think about all the heartache and misery he had caused Zoe and hoped she wasn't holed up in there, listening to the saddest country sounds in the world. Whenever Zoe looked out to Wade's place, a hint of jealousy coursed through her veins when she made herself believe that he probably had an "overnight guest" in his house like the old days. Neither of them were ready to leave the planation. Being close to Lavon and having their own staple places in Bluebell was too important for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the memories or the food that they were always stealing from Lavon, but they weren't about to leave him like that. Thinking of someone else living in their houses made them feel physically sick.

The two of them had to work themselves up every morning to go get breakfast with their friend. They'd try their hardest to go somewhere else to get food, but Lavon's was too inviting, too familiar. The happiness that usually loomed over the kitchen had suddenly turned into a quiet reminder that having a mayor that was too inviting could possibly be a bad thing every now and then. It obviously wasn't Lavon's fault. The exes loved their friendly, but during this dark time, Lavon wasn't too happy with Wade. It wasn't that he hated him, but he was disappointed. The man wasn't about to choose between his two best friends, but he knew that what Wade did wasn't at all fair and seeing Zoe get hurt as bad as she did made Lavon want to punch him. The feeling would soon subside, but until that happened, he decided to hardly talk to the blond man.

Zoe was usually the first one to arrive at Lavon's. She was always nice and on time whereas Wade would show up twenty minutes later with bedhead and sleepy eyes after hitting the snooze button a million times in a row. On this particular morning, Zoe tensed up as she awaited for his arrival. She knew that he'd come in awkwardly, hardly saying a word to the two of them. He'd mutter a few "sorry's" as if his presence was a mistake, but eventually he'd leave after only a few moments.

What she wasn't prepared for was when he walked through the door with a smile on his lips. It was as if he were back to his usual peppy self, making Zoe believe that there must've been a girl taking her place in his bed last night. "Mornin' doc, Lavon." The doctor and mayor looked over at him with confused looks. Neither of them were in the mood for whatever was happening. Their confusion suddenly turned into sour looks. Lavon's expression was somewhat of a warning to Wade as he looked over at Zoe. "Relax," Wade told him with a grin. "Can't we all get along? Like old times?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Zoe scoffed before taking another bite of her pastry. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and suddenly pointed towards the door, motioning for him to get out of the house and go on to work. "Get out!" she yelled once he hadn't taken the hint.

Wade threw his hands in the air in defense and turned on his heal, heading out. That was the last time he was going to try and be friendly to two people he once called his best friends.

"God, can you believe him?" Zoe asked Lavon once he had slammed the door behind him. "I can't stand the sight of him," she screaming before shoving the pastry into her mouth, eating it all in one bite. When she was on edge, her eating habits were worse than ever.

"You know, Zoe-" Lavon said as he looked down at her. A glare was on her face as she almost choked on the breakfast food. "Zoe," he started once more, "it's a small town, you know. You're going to have to talk to him sooner or later."

"Unbelievable," the girl said as she stood up and headed towards the door. "I cannot believe that you're taking his side on this."

Lavon raised his eyebrows at her comment. He knew that she was in a fragile state right now, but that was the last thing he was doing. "I'm not taking sides," he explained, "I'm simply stating a fact. You know how it was with Ruby and Lemon. You're going to have to be friendly sooner or later."

"I choose later," she commented before walking out the door, leaving Lavon to shake his head in disbelief.

On her walk to work, she passed the Rammer Jammer. It took almost every fiber in her being not to run in there and kick him as hard as she could. She wasn't one for violence, but there was something about that place that irked her. It wasn't that she particularly even liked the place, but she had grown accustomed to the food and all of the townsfolk that she had grown to love. Staying away from the Rammer Jammer was something that she couldn't do. Eventually, she'd have to go in there, but not any time sooner.

As she stood across the street, staring at the bar, she heard a voice call out her name. She tried her best to ignore it, but the voice grew louder by the second. "Zoe!" It was George. She knew it was George, but she wasn't about to turn around - that'd mean taking her glare off of the bar and she wasn't ready to do that just yet. "Hey," he said with concern, "what are you doing?" Tansy was glued to his side, looking at Zoe with utter empathy. She knew how it was. It wasn't that she even liked Zoe Hart, but she had been there. Getting cheated on by Wade Kinsella was something that was hard to process.

"I'm glaring," Zoe finally said, keeping eye contact with the building.

"And why are you glaring?" Tansy asked with a hint of judgement in her voice.

"Because I hate him," Zoe answered simply.

From behind her, she heard George let out a small sigh. "Zoe, you can't do this to yourself. Let's get you to work."

"I don't want to go to work. I want to glare."

George yanked on her arm, lightly forcing her to turn around. "Look, I can go beat his ass for you or even glare while you're at work, but you cannot do this. You have to try to move on." Tansy nodded, keeping her eyes on the doctor. "Let's get you to work, okay? That'll make you feel better. It always does. We can even pick up coffee along the way."

The idea was enticing to Zoe just because she knew he was right. She stared at them blankly for a few moments before slowly nodding and walking away. They had won. She couldn't do this forever. They headed towards The Butter Stick, remaining quiet the entire way there. She wanted to go back. She wanted to physically hurt him the way he mentally hurt her, but she wasn't the violent type. Having Tansy punch Wade in the stomach was enough for now.

After grabbing coffees, the three headed towards the medical practice. By this point, Zoe had calmed down a bit, bringing relief to the couple that strolled aside her. "Have a good day," George said as they left her by the front door. "If you need anything, give me a call, alright? You're going to be okay." His words were always reassuring to Zoe. She might not have liked him the way she did before, but she always enjoyed having a friend like him around.

"Thanks, you guys," Zoe said with a half-hearted smile. Her morning wasn't exactly good so far, but she was more than ready to start working. As she headed towards the door and walked in, her heart immediately stopped once she saw who was in the waiting room. Of course he'd be there. Of course he'd have something wrong with him. In that moment, she realized that Lavon was right. It was a small town.

"Dr. Hart," AnnaBeth greeted her with a frown. Zoe walked over to her desk and leaned in. She could tell this was going to be bad news from the start - she felt in deep in her gut. "Uh, Dr. Breeland is making a house call at the moment. I'm so sorry." Zoe closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She wasn't ready to have any type of conversation with him, let alone be in a closed room with him as her patient.

"Wade," she called in a monotone voice and motioned to the room. The two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Zoe wasn't ready to say a single word to him, but it was her duty as the doctor.

"Well," Wade finally spoke up, "are you gonna ask me what's wrong or not, Doc?"

Zoe let out a sigh and shrugged. "What's wrong, Wade?"

He held up his hand which was wrapped in dirty rag. Zoe was quick to unravel it and found a rather large burn mark. She immediately knew that he was working in the kitchen. For what, she had no idea. That wasn't his job whatsoever. "What the hell," she commented as she rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that bad. You'll live." With that, she stopped talking. She was frozen in her tracks, glaring at him once again.

"Can you give me something to put on it?" he finally asked with furrowed brows.

Zoe quickly ran over to the medicine cabinet and grabbed gauze as well as some ointment. She knew that he couldn't do it one handed, so she ended up grabbing him by the wrist - rather harshly - and started to put the ointment on the burn before loosely wrapping it in the gauze. "There you go." The doctor crossed her arms and gave him an irritated look.

"Uh, thanks," he said shyly as he stood up and walked himself out of the medical room.

It was in that moment that Zoe and Wade realized that she'd never be able to escape each other. It usually didn't bother Wade. He never had too many serious girlfriends and whenever he'd have a one night stand, neither of them seemed to be bothered by the others presence whatsoever, but with Zoe it was different. It was uncomfortable and too sad to comprehend correctly. For Zoe, as heart broken as she was, she sucked it up and wanted to try to be neighborly with the man, even if that meant talking to him every now and then. She knew that it was going to be something that was hard to do, but eventually, as time moved on, she'd get over it.

Or at least that's what she thought.


End file.
